Dick Clark, who died Wednesday, had solid connections to SU, Central New York radio and television

Syracuse, NY -- Dick Clark, who died Wednesday at age 82 following a heart attack, had strong ties to Syracuse and Central New York, and often recalled those memories fondly.

He was a 1951 graduate of Syracuse’s radio-TV school, landing his first broadcasting gigs at radio stations around Central New York.

While in college, Clark worked at SU’s WAER-FM radio. In the summer of 1949, he worked as a replacement announcer at WRUN radio in Utica, where his father was the station manager. When still a college senior at SU, Clark was hired — for $1 an hour — at Syracuse’s WOLF-AM radio.

Following graduation, Clark was hired full time at that station. But Utica became his next stepping-stone to fame. Clark left WOLF and went to his father’s WRUN radio in Utica.

But radio couldn’t contain the hard-working and star-climbing Dick Clark. While in Utica, he transitioned to television, at a Utica-based TV station. Clark’s next step launched him into the stratosphere with a move to a major broadcast market. He was hired at Philadelphia powerhouse WFIL-AM radio and TV.

At the age of 26 and already a veteran broadcaster, Clark, with his youthful good looks, was hired as the host of WFIL’s “American Bandstand” TV show — the early prototype to “American Idol” — which was filmed in Philadelphia. There, he earned the title that stayed with him until his death: “The World’s Oldest Teenager.”

Clark was sentimental about his family, his time in Central New York — and his pets. In a 1988 interview with a reporter with the Syracuse Herald-Journal, Clark said he had fond memories of a cold city in the 1940s and ‘50s (he enrolled at SU in 1947).

“I remember the winters,” said Clark, laughing. “No, my recollections of Syracuse are all positive. ... And 10 members of my family or other relatives went to the university. My daughter was the last to graduate, a couple of years ago.”

In a 2002 interview with The Post-Standard, Clark talked about living in Central New York amd working seven nights a week, spinning records as a radio DJ fresh out of SU.

When he came home late at night, Clark recalled, his wife and baby were sleeping. His dachsund, named after an SU roommate, waited up. “The thing I remember about Louie was he was always there to greet me,” Clark said. “He was just a terrific dog.”

Over the years, Clark returned to Syracuse often.

In 1993, Clark, a native of Mount Vernon, was inducted into the Syracuse Walk of Stars at the Landmark Theatre in downtown Syracuse. He returned to the city for the event for the class of ’93.

At the time, he told a reporter he was proud of his “American Bandstand” connections and all it wrought. “I raised almost four generations of kids on it, “ said Clark. “The show has become an American icon, of which I’m part. So I’m very proud.”

View full sizeCourtesy of ABCDick Clark (left) poses with Ryan Seacrest in New York City in this photo from Jan. 1, 2006. Clark, the ever-youthful television host and tireless entrepreneur who helped bring rock `n' roll into the mainstream on "American Bandstand, " and later produced and hosted a vast range of programming from game shows to the New Year's Eve countdown from Times Square, died of a heart attack on Wednesday. He was 82.